The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily called on the people of the country to unite in order to achieve lasting peace, stability and prosperity.

"On this occasion, I call upon all Libyans ... to come together in a spirit of compromise for the sake of establishing a clear and unified pathway towards lasting peace, stability, and prosperity," Bathily said in a statement on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

"I also call on women and youth to seize the occasion of this celebration to renew their commitment to participate fully in the electoral process as a meaningful contribution to rebuilding peace, security, stability and prosperity in their motherland," the statement said.

He also called for the release of those arbitrarily detained all over Libya as a critical foundation for confidence-building and for establishing a comprehensive, rights-based reconciliation, reports Xinhua news agency.

Bathily said there is an opportunity to encourage all stakeholders to rally behind the UN's comprehensive approach to enable national elections this year.

Ever since the fall of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid escalating violence and political division. [IANS/JS]